Cruise Ship Employee Rescued After Hours in the Ocean

A crew member from Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas was rescued near Santa Catalina Island after being in the ocean for over nine hours, authorities said on November 9, 2026. Authorities believe the man went into the water at about 2 a.m., and a fishing vessel found him roughly nine nautical miles from Avalon Harbor.

At about 11:30 a.m., Newport Beach lifeguards brought him to safety and transferred him to the Newport Beach Fire Department. He was in stable condition and taken to a hospital for further care.

Officials are examining the event as a potential suicide attempt and a possible marine casualty. A Coast Guard official said the man may have jumped from the ship. Authorities have not said whether he had a life jacket or another flotation device.

A Coast Guard official attributed the man’s survival in part to unusually warm ocean water, while noting that spending so long in the water was dangerous. The agency’s marine inspections unit is pursuing the investigation.